Find out more here, including measurements of the contact patch: www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/reviews/bikes/long-term-test-bikes/yamaha-long-term-test-bikes/can-you-crash-yamaha-niken

@EM-ks5my

3 жыл бұрын

Wanna get more hits? Repost it as "Death Stranding" motorcycle in real life.. And yes Norman Reebus approves..

this music does a permanent brain damage....

@bennettsbikesocial

4 жыл бұрын

Evidently

@CyberGasty

4 жыл бұрын

@@bennettsbikesocial you got me :)

@bennettsbikesocial

4 жыл бұрын

@@CyberGasty Nobody likes the music we used for a while, but we're trying to improve it!

@CyberGasty

4 жыл бұрын

@@bennettsbikesocial if only it was in the background and less loud, maybe it could pass. Nevertheless, always appreciate your vids.

@n111254789

2 жыл бұрын

@@bennettsbikesocial Maybe stop using music?

Seriously Lower the music otherwise good content.

@numpty94

3 жыл бұрын

Felt myself constantly adjusting to hear the guy and avoid the loud music

Excellent test and interesting results, thanks for sharing! Turn the music down though, it’s distracting and too loud.

Thanks guys for putting all this effort into and also for the excellent explanation of what the limit feels like on the Niken.

Came for the music. Wasn't disappointed.

Very informative conversation, I'm grateful that you had a very competent and articulate professional talking this through. Terrible music though. Still voted up because I needed this information on this dual front wheel concept.

the big benefit of two front wheels shows up in bad pavement situations. If your commute involves urban stretches with potholes or trolly tracks you'll love it.

@aluisious

5 ай бұрын

My commute involves potholes, bad weather, carrying a big tool box...and that's why I have a car. Motorcycles are for fun on the weekend or vacations, where I'll be riding somewhere nice.

Recently a journalist (also a good pilot) has beaten by 2s the record on wet track on a Pirelli test track with the Niken

Thank you for posting - proper critical analysis!

Thanks this was a test I did not know I needed to see but it helps a lot with my choice

Great video, well done!

Man I’d love to have a go with these outriggers.... such a great way to really find the limits ;)

As an owner of a month old Yamaha Niken GT with 2,600 miles on the clock I found this very interesting. As a 55yr old Motorcycle Instructor I have owned all sorts of bikes in the 38 years since passing my test including in the last 7 years, 5 Triumph Explorers covering over 85,000 miles. Having watched the excellent shots of the Niken sliding progressively across the wet tarmac and Chris`s excellent description of that feeling in your stomach when the bike "lets go" reminded me of a very wet day 2 weeks ago and the same thing happened to me on a roundabout the front "tucked" but gave me time with a bit of opposite lock to push the bike back up and then on acceleration out of the roundabout lit up the rear tyre to the point i actually stopped to check I hadn't got a puncture!! Certainly saved me from an unplanned dismount! The Niken GT is definitely a "marmite bike" from the reaction I have had so far amongst fellow bikers but without doubt in 38 years I have never had so many non-bikers look at a bike so much. Everybody wants to know about it. Fuel stops take twice as long! Plus points :- The most comfortable bike I have owned. Excellent slow speed control (very useful following 16yr olds on a CBT!) Gets me noticed!! Bad Points :- Apart from good natured abuse (so far) I will let ya know.

@gpz550a2

5 жыл бұрын

What has your bike's current mileage got to do with with why you found the video interesting?

@simonhughes-king8493

5 жыл бұрын

@@gpz550a2 Because he can better relate to the vid with his experience on hi Niken

test would be interesting with cornering abs

If I hadn't bought two motorcycles before the Niken was released, it would be one of the bikes in my garage. I'm digging that bike.

I took a niken out at MCN festival for a giggle but I've got to admit I was impressed. It's not going to replace the ninja any time soon but kudos to Yamaha for the concept.

@highrider9168

5 жыл бұрын

Now imagine it with a 1200cc motor...thats what i wanna see. Also stretched a bit.

@mrmully7275

5 жыл бұрын

@@highrider9168 I said to the Yamaha chap it was fun in mode 1 but needed a bit more poke to keep it interesting:)

@highrider9168

5 жыл бұрын

@@mrmully7275 agreed! With added stability should come greater speed!

Happy to see innovation

love the front calipers on the mt09 reminds me of early 2000s r6s and fazers

Good informative video nut agree about the background nois

Thank you for this!

6:35 oof, yeah, that's exactly the feeling

Great info although not a surprising result. Some actual numbers would be helpful. For example, just how much faster can you ride the Niken in a corner? what is the lean angle limit? Wet vs. dry performance? Were you using traction control and anti-lock braking? (Just FYI, I have an MP3 500 with traction control and anti-lock braking with the same advantages but without the high performance of the Niken.)

Thanks for taking considerable effort in this demonstration. It is a great advance and well done to Yamaha for pursuing it. I would be very tempted in this tech if Yamaha made it with a fully enclosed cockpit. What would be good to know also is how ABS impacted your tests and results. Did you still have ABS engaged and did it help mid-corner?

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers! We did turn the ABS off, though there's more to come about braking... watch this space (or subscribe!)

@Tom_Hadler

5 жыл бұрын

MotoGuzziMoto You'd want an enclosed cockpit so you wouldn't have to be seen on it!

@Dornpunzel

7 ай бұрын

@@Tom_Hadler Typical moronic comment from a supercool biker.

Excellent info chaps. Well done! One thing you didn't mention was the Piaggio MP3, the pioneer in this TTW field - and with the fork legs inside the wheels, not outside. That would have been an obvious addition to the comparo - an MP3 500.

@ragetobe

11 ай бұрын

You are talking about mopeds/twist and go, they are testing bikes.

@pnblondon1087

11 ай бұрын

@@ragetobe Those are just names - the principles are exactly the same. I bet you've never ridden an MP3 500! It may be a 'twist'n'go' but it weighs 577lbs (262kg) and does 90mph

@ragetobe

11 ай бұрын

@@pnblondon1087 I've ridden just about every single "Bike" I can get my hands on and there is a humungous difference between a twist and go and motorcycle. I had an FS1E that could do 90MPH, it was rebored but it could do it. Mopeds are mopeds, they have their purpose but there is no point in testing a moped against a motorbike, there are so many reasons, just to scratch the surface the skill level for a motorbike is much steeper, if I was an old man I might consider such a thing but I'm 51 and I still have the will to live.

@pnblondon1087

11 ай бұрын

@@ragetobe I beg to differ. The MP3 500 is a lot heavier than an FS1E and is no moped. It's also heavier than an MT-09. I don't know why you think the skill level is 'much steeper' for a motorbike than an MP3 500. And I say that having ridden and raced all manner of two wheelers, both on and off road, from GS1150s and HP2 1200 Enduros on the dirt to half-tonne Ecomobiles and Monotracers around Brno. I've also raced both motorcycles and a Burgman 650 'twist & go' at Le Mans.

@ragetobe

11 ай бұрын

@@pnblondon1087 Gears! The same can be applied to a car, basically, a gocart when it's automatic, a child can drive an automatic and when I was a child I did. Gears bring another skill level. Mopeds just are not the same thing, you seem butthurt by this but I am just stating a fact. If I have offended you and your beliefs get over it, I have already. I've toured on several bikes and I can tell you, you won't do that in a hurry on a moped. There is a reason they are out there and I am happy for the people they enable but there is a reason they are called mopeds and not motorbikes. P.S. I have to question why a 492cc moped weighs in at 262kg when my 1250rt is around that weight.

Annoying music or not.... I want a Niken!! :). Great video.

I saw the gold forks version today for the first time . That's how I ended up here. The engineering of the front forks fascinated me . These days of multiple potholes probably makes it one of the safest bikes to ride.

what are those bridgestone things called? looks like they can apply a force and lean a stationary bike

I love the music! It’s somewhere available?

Sounds like there is much less risk of highsiding on a Niken given how it doesn’t whip back up.

real question is given the required skill to master each configuration, which is faster around a sharper corner?

Has anyone else noticed that although they are counter-steering the bars, the front tire does not point toward the outside of the turn like a normal two wheeler does in a counter-steered state. I've watched several videos and this seems to be the case in all of them, hmm. 3:05. So all though the Niken gets the tire(s) to the inside radius of the tire, it does it in a totally different method with all that linkage, and if that's the case, then the fact that it countersteers is an added in affect by the engineers to make it feel and steer like a two wheeler, they could have made it a non-counter-steering mechanism. It seems that the steering mechanism forces a lateral movement to inside radius. Where with a two wheeler, counter steering is a function of the bike folding at the steering head due to the front contact patch being moved off axis with the rest of the bike. Does that make sense to anyone else, or did I have to much sugar today?

i'd really like to see just the go round footage, no music, no commentary, just data, plz & thx

im gonna need that outriggers or whatever in my daily commute. i need the confidence!!

Would you do a video on the sound of these three wheelers. I think that the major reason some are slow, including myself, about switching from a Harley is the thrill of the sound. The vibration of that power and the sound that rumbles to one's ears like thunder. I love it, but it just isn't something found in these other brands. I meaning that sound rumbling from the pipes and it is the MAJOR reason I do not switch although I would like to. I don't like trikes, but this NIKEN GT idea is really cool to my taste, but not enough to give up the rolling thunder sound of my HarleyD Ultra. I hope HD is listening and comes out with their own version plus the beautiful sound of those pipes.

Awesome Mongolian throat singing at 4:03

@jrrains

3 жыл бұрын

Excuse me do you think that sound is a human throat?

I was going to buy it, but the pegs scraping on EVERY corner made me crazy when i tried it. Was going to be the first bike bought by my brain and no my heart so the looks didn´t mattered. At 47 after 30 sportbikes and not riding since my Little daughter arrived 4 years ago i think i´m the target for this bike, but still have bad habits on the roads and 45º it´s not enough. The main problem is that it give you toooooooooo much confident making you forget that you are in a bike and you are mortal.

@peter58murray

Жыл бұрын

they go beyond 45 degrees...53 is possible on the niken with good tyres

@laryangel4082

Жыл бұрын

W

Niken's not my pint of Guinness, but you do make some good videos! Cheers!

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks! John

You, guys, made exactly the same mistake in your test that Germans already did previously in their similar test: YOU CHOSE THE WRONG BIKE! The only straightforward two-wheeled analogue to the NIKEN is Tracer 900. Since NIKEN is, basically, a three-wheeled version of Tracer. So that's the bike you should have to choose for this test, obviously. But you, guys, cheated, and chose the MT-09 instead, which is 21 kg lighter, and has lower center of gravity than the Tracer. That makes this test (MT-09 vs. NIKEN) unfair. Tracer vs. the NIKEN would be the only perfectly fair. But not this.

cracking test and the results are expected, I recently took a Niken out for a demo and the front end stability is very noticeable, also - its WAY more fun to ride than i expected. :-)

It's an interesting idea. I'm sure it's got more grip. I would love to have a go on one . What is it like filtering in traffic ? It's then really heavy and expensive, I really doubt they'll be selling that many of these machines.

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/eZ-M3MmzfK7ddqg.html&

What happened with counter steering method?

Does the outrigger only work on the MT09 chassis?

@GregQuillen

5 жыл бұрын

There are riding schools that take toy out with those in the wet. I seen it on KZread. Different bikes

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

Outriggers could work on any bike in theory. We borrowed them from California Superbike School, but the tricky bit was building a frame that'd safely hang them from the chassis. To fit these to another bike, you'd need to build a different frame.

@CatalystReactionSBW

5 жыл бұрын

@@bennettsbikesocial Thanks very much for the reply. That makes perfect sense and I am willing to do that as we have an 04 GSXR 750that will be the dedicated test mule. We have a local fabricator that is willing to build the cage and he needs to know the attachment points to start.

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

@@CatalystReactionSBW Brilliant! Keep in touch through our email as that sounds really interesting!

I love how he was worried about damaging the bike and Yamaha being mad and not himself.

Ok sir

Sure it has more traction in the wet, but I'd like to see what it's actually capable of on a dry track. Then see how well it keeps up with the other bike. It's no good if it's only a one trick pony.

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

Here you go... kzread.info/dash/bejne/nHl1p6tshqi4lbQ.html

The exhausts are not cleaned after welding in the factory. Quite annoying on the mt series!

Nice video, but the music is way too loud, damn.

If theres a 1200cc i volunteer to test it!

It is a great trike. But it could move better on small rocks. Still I do like the boost and jump functions. ;)

Music too loud but thanks for the content!

Wow independent tests backs Yamaha. I just wish the bike was in my price range but never mind.

Skip the music next time

I wish I could buy those side wheels (outrig) for my everyday ride.

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

Filtering would suck!

@bennettsbikesocial

4 жыл бұрын

@Perú Bicampeón de América Riding a bike with these things sticking out would be dangerous!

Interesting concept. This could be a way to make bikes faster than cars around bends - more grip. Two real wheels + leaning might be even better?

@BigUriel

5 жыл бұрын

This might add a little bit of grip but at the expense of weight, weight distribution and inertia. Superbikes already pull 1g+ on corners on road tires, it's not actually the lateral grip they lack compared to cars. It's the fact that transitions have to be smooth as losing grip at any point can mean crashing (where as a momentary loss of traction on a car is no big deal) and they can't brake as hard because the rear wheel comes off the ground. If you put a superbike and a supercar on a skidpad they'll be pretty even. Put them through a series of consecutive slow corners and the car is gone, and at the end of a straight the bike has to start braking twice as far from the corner.

@benjamincs1

5 жыл бұрын

@@BigUriel Thanks, interesting response. Continuing with this line of thinking, this suggests the Niken might be quicker because it's more stable, ie this problem with momentary losses of grip is not present as it is on a 2 wheel bike - no?

I think the Niken could dominate on the track if they can figure out a way to shrink the front down so it's not so massive and unwieldy. I also wonder how it compares to just running a single giant 240 tire in the front instead of duel 120's.

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

The trouble with a single, much larger tyre is that it'd likely be a lot harder to turn - the clever thing with this system is that it's pretty much unnoticeable to the rider.

It's hard to pay attention with the music

Can countersteer be applied on the Niken aswell?

@GregQuillen

5 жыл бұрын

Yeah it rides like a motorcycle. Leans into a turn

Since the main goal was to get a larger contact patch, can't we do that on a conventional motorcycle by using a wider front tire ? And if we want to make the breakaway more predictable, why not use a harder rubber compound ?

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

A wider front tyre would steer poorly and you'd still need more weight over the front to take advantage of the potential for an increased contact patch for that to work.

@plinid

5 жыл бұрын

You have missed the really important point. No the added grip is not unique to the 3 wheelers, you can have it, as you said, just by using a much bigger front tyre or a better rubber compound one. The important point is the gradual and smooth behaviour before the front end washes out If you are an average or above average rider this gradual and smooth behaviour, this 'multiple warnings' as the driver is mentioning in the video, will save your butt and your wallet!

@auxpowerunit

5 жыл бұрын

@@plinid- Sorry, I didn't explain my idea well. We are in agreement here. I wanted the larger contact patch so the front tire would be less disturbed by road surface imperfections. And I want a harder rubber compound with the intent of allowing that front wheel to slide gradually. It reminds me of riding a 2-stroke Yamaha scooter in Taiwan around 1990. That little bike only had about 7hp, but it could handle aggressively enough to slide either the back or the front. Sliding the front on pavement wasn't really scary, because the rubber was so hard, grip would break away slowly. The one time I crashed was while I wasn't paying attention, because a bump had knocked my trunk open. While slowing to only about 10mph, the front wheel suddenly lost all grip because I was braking on loose dirt. So I hit the ground before realizing what happened.

@plinid

5 жыл бұрын

@@auxpowerunit The harder rubber compound will help, but only in a very limited way. It is all about time duration before completely wash-out. A single tyre will loose grip quite fast, even if it is of a very hard compound (which also has the great disadvantage of low overall grip, so it is not a good solution). 2 front wheels work in a very different way. When the one of the two slips (wash-out) the other has not slipped yet. As a result, its suspension compresses (because it is loaded with more weight than before - the side with the slipped tyre cannot bear the weight so all of it compresses the other). This takes enough time (some seconds!) before the second wheel slips also (if it, eventually, will). This gives plenty of time to the average rider to first panic and then take the appropriate measures (like releasing the pressure on the breaks). I have experienced this at least twice with my much more humble than the Niken three wheeler (Tricity). I have been saved by this 'early warning' signal and although I panicked, I didn't fall. In every other 2 wheeler I would.

@auxpowerunit

5 жыл бұрын

@@plinid Good point. The other issue is the single wheel has more "unsprung mass" than each of the Niken's smaller wheels. So it can't respond to surface imperfections as quickly.

Like listening to the monster from 'the ring'

I also say get rid of that damn music or let it play gently in the back round not in your face.... shesh!

I’m not ready to go for the Niken but it is a bike and it looks like fun, I can see that if I was older this might give me that little extra to carry on riding. Upon pricing one of these to the level I would my BMW r1250 Rt it’s hard to ignore how expensive this thing is. £22k for a full spec and it’s an 800cc, the pannier and top box are small and a completely unusable shape. I’m not sure they have their maths right, nobody is paying this much for that bike surely.

Very cool test.

Name song theme?

I'm the only one who liked the music and the audio mixing I guess? (I Used to work as a mix engineer)

Great test and review. If I could afford it, I'd get a Niken, but it's just out of reach for me.

@renegade1987

5 жыл бұрын

with a 3k deposit, yamaha said i could have one for £150 a month on PCP, if your interested then maybe a pcp deal would be the way to go?

Chris Northover over here.

the music is much more faster than the motorcycle itself

Why three wheels? Because a set of supersport tyres aren't expensive enough

Scary test

The mt09 also had a far tighter line.

Music to aid the vomitting process.

More bike action would have been interesting, just the chat and odd clip did not really show the difference that well chaps.

Great video but what's with the terrible music?????

Testing on a smooth track built for racing. I'd like to see that tested on country roads in Australia, or even in some suburbs. You'd come off and I'm pretty sure you would end up with some pretty serious injuries.

Once the two frontwheels of my Yamaha Tricity lost contact in a curve on a icy street. Me, rolling over the street, couldn´t find a difference in falling from a two wheel bike. ;-)

I’m sold on the Niken

the rave in the next field over should keep it down

As the tech gets better, I can see more of these three wheeled bikes being offered from all the big manufacturers.

@rharris8344

5 жыл бұрын

I can't. They are dreadful things. Two sets of front tyres to replace and two sets of forks to service. No thanks.

@Mtthwpez

5 жыл бұрын

@@rharris8344 I get that they're not for everyone. Thanks for your reply!

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

@@rharris8344An all-too-common misconception. kzread.info/dash/bejne/k6uAzKauksyWm9I.html

@kinguin7

5 жыл бұрын

Not exactly a new concept.

@Mtthwpez

5 жыл бұрын

@@kinguin7 I never said it was.

what caused the bikes to lose traction? you were nowhere near the maximum lean angle when you see them jump.

@YoubiYoann

5 жыл бұрын

Front brake

So what's the conclusion? The Niken inspires more confidence and increases limits but is ultimately slower than the mt09 because of the weight?

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

That's one way to look at it, though the limits in a corner are at much lower speeds than the top-end that's shaved off the Niken.

Good test but what drugs do I need to take to tolerate that music ?🤨

@Tom_Hadler

5 жыл бұрын

Bohemoth Cyanide, then wait 10 minutes

I wasn't sceptical at all...

Lost me with the music...

Turn the music up louder please And flashing lights

Well if you were to ride the bike normally and not jam on the front brakes going round a corner in the wet, you'll be fine.

@goldin5130

5 жыл бұрын

Jake nice pic jdm life I’m going to a huge car meet in Australia tomorrow could downshift

@goldin5130

5 жыл бұрын

On KZread search up forza horizon 4 Nissan r32 and go to the most recent video by jg gaming I would appreciate it

@Mu4dD1b15

5 жыл бұрын

You don't need to ride like a knob to appreciate what having more grip on the front does for you.

@Jake-ec5bj

5 жыл бұрын

@@Mu4dD1b15 I'm not disagreeing, i ride a bike myself and I definitely appreciate front grip.

I don't think using the tires for the niken on the 09 was fair. You could have just as easily put the 09s tires on the niken and had a completely different result. The best test is having both bikes run the tires they are designed to run. That what it will be in the real world...

@Vessekx

5 жыл бұрын

Using two different tires for this test would be poor experimental design. When you’re comparing the effects of the two motorcycle geometries, you want to isolate as many variables as possible, not add confounding factors that you won’t be able to account for. That’s why you use the same tire during the testing. If you then want to account for tire differences between the bikes, you can compare the two different tires on the same bike, and isolate that factor.

@DoRC

5 жыл бұрын

@@Vessekx I see what you're saying but this experiment is so far away from being scientific that one extra variable isn't going to make much difference. I look at it like this. If you were to try to compare the cornering grip of a car with a motorcycle it wouldnt exactly be fair to put car tires on the bike. Sure they both have the same tires then but one is put at a disadvantage while the other isn't. The experiment wasn't testing tires. It was testing which bike had better grip. By putting the wrong tires on one bike it kind of invalidates it's results.

The music sounds like a teen burping a song. And did they answer the damn question?

Watches video, scratches head. Watches video, scratches head. Goes for a 100 mile fun ride on my "old school" FJ 1100 to clear my thoughts.

Why the mt09, should have used the tracer, it is more alike!

@yoorukhunt947

5 жыл бұрын

Rebel13 The Niken is based on the MT09 isn’t it?

@1rebel13

5 жыл бұрын

@@yoorukhunt947 The MT was the first model design with engine, drive and the like, however the FJ - Tracer is nearly identical to it except the one or two wheel difference mainly. Simply look at all three bikes, it is obvious. The mt is a naked sport standard where as both fj and niken are half faired sport tour standards.

try it with rosso corsa 3..never fall..

So what we've learnt is outriggers save u expensive bills in repairs. Nice.

@BigUriel

5 жыл бұрын

They don't look very practical for lane splitting though.

ultimate commuter bike

Well of course having more weight on a tire that's built to have more weight on it is going to give you better grip than having that same tire on a bike that weighs a lot less. It's physics.

I can see how the niken would have a grip advantage when pushed to its limits, but the extra weight means it could never be a competitive racer anyway. In normal road riding the extra grip would be redundant and the extra weight a liability. So i strikes me as an interesting design idea, with no real practical application. You could increase the grip further by adding two extra wheels instead of one - they are called 'cars'.

@elmoomle4565

5 жыл бұрын

Exactly. It seems that today's conventional motorcycles with ABS, traction control, IMU, anti wheelie 'nanny controls' simply cannot provide the level of grip/safety that some people demand. I say they need to improve their RIDING skills rather than ride this high tech, overly complex TRIKE.

Who decided this music was a good choice…. Makes this video borderline unwatchable.

I love a test that starts with few minutes of this is all the mods from stock extra weight, outruggers tires blah blah blah then the tests... result inaccurate information

@bennettsbikesocial

5 жыл бұрын

The outriggers are exactly the same on both, so the comparative results are still useful - that's why we made the rig to be swappable between the two machines.

i love my niken,its the best in the world..

So the moral to this clip is don’t brake on corners guys

Turn the awful music off ffs